40,093 PHCN workers get N292b handshake

The unbundled energy behemoth – Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) – will be transferred to new owners tomorrow, the Federal Government said yesterday.

The government said it had paid 40,093 workers of the fading firm N292.51 billion as severance package.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali, told reporters at the State House after a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo that the cash comprises N214.22 billion for severance and N80.290 billion for pension.

With the payment, all is set for the transfer of the PHCN to the new owners tomorrow.

Igali said of the 47,913 PHCN workers who were identified after validation, regularisation and cross-checking, the payment of only 5,907 workers was being delayed due to lack of biometric data records and duplications .

He said: “We have been asked by the Vice President to update you on the outcome of the briefing, which he has just received for the preparations towards the handover of PHCN assets to the new owners by 1st of November. So far, during the process of validation, revalidation and processing, the total number of 40,093 workers, as at this morning, have been completely validated and their entitlements paid.

“An additional 605 workers were validated in the course of yesterday and their papers have just been sent in for payment of their entitlements.

“The 40,093 people, the severance components that have been paid out is N214.22 billion while the pension components (N80.290 billion) has been paid.”

“In total, 47,913 PHCN workers were identified in the process of validation, regularisation, and cross-checking of workers. As you know, this process has to be done because PHCN is a very large organisation and had workers in all parts of this country.”

On the 5,907 workers whose payment is being stalled by virus, duplication and no records, he said: “The balance of the number, we have some issues with some of them. It is an electronic process and unfortunately some workers in Enugu Disco, 1,478 workers, their biometric capture got corrupted by virus and the consultant has moved to site in Enugu to recapture them.

“Additional 929 other workers from around the country also had their biometric data corrupted. This is a usual thing that happens when dealing with large numbers and we are bringing them to Abuja at the expense of the government for their biometric data to be recaptured so that they can be paid their entitlements immediately. “

“An additional about 1,000 workers from the number that is left has been cleared, but there are some duplications of various nature; names are duplicated, accounts are duplicated.

“For example, there are cases where people have three names and while filling they put only two names. There are also cases where someone’s name is Mohammed and they write Mahmud. So, these things have to be captured properly because the amounts are big and we don’t want the wrong people to be paid somebody else’s money.

“For such a huge number, such delays have occurred and that is why we are accounting 6,000 or so people that their cases are still being dealt with out of the 47,000.”

“There are cases of 2,500 that are bad cases, but they are being handled. These are cases of people that don’t have any record, any document to back up the claim that they are PHCN workers. But people have identified them that they have been in the system. These are mostly casual workers and their cases are being looked into,” he added

To ensure that every worker is paid his or her entitlement, Igalli said, the technical committee will continue to work day and night to validate as many people as possible.

He said any delay of payment of the 40,093 workers had to do with processes in the banks and that the government has directed them to expedite action on the payments.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said it had despatched a team of consultants and its staff for the biometric data capture of 1, 478 employees of the Enugu Distribution Company who could not be audited because of virus attack on the system were their names were stored.

Head, BPE Public Communications, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, said the federal government set aside the entire proceed of N384 billion from the BPE transaction to settle labour liabilities.